1. Timor-Leste’s achievements as the newest country in Asia are underpinned by its commitment to reconciliation, inclusion and democracy. Emerging from Portuguese colonial administration and Indonesian occupation, the nation restored independence in 2002, amid a state of ruins where basic services and institutions were burnt to ashes. The country has made the journey from a traumatic independence struggle and period of civil unrest and conflict to become a democratic nation focused on state-building and accelerating progress on sustainable development.

2. The country championed the 2030 Agenda from its inception, advocating for the standalone goal on peace, justice and strong institutions. An SDG Roadmap, produced in 2017, outlined how the global goals align with Timor-Leste’s Strategic Development Plan (2011-2030). The nation’s commitment to peace, inclusion and institution-building is the foundation for achieving all the SDGs. Timor-Leste recommits its leadership on SDG 16, working for peaceful, just and inclusive societies.

3. Reconciliation and inclusion, within Timor-Leste and with its neighbour Indonesia, were immediate priorities. Social transfers to veterans and poor families were established early on, ensuring social cohesion and continued peace. However, women, rural communities, people and children with disabilities continue to face challenges accessing decent jobs and quality education and health care.

4. The nation is consolidating a culture of democracy, undergoing four democratic and peaceful elections since regaining independence. The creation of independent human rights, anti-corruption and electoral institutions is important progress. Promoting decentralisation, building institutional capacity and strengthening the justice sector will help consolidate peace, promote the rule of law and enhance accountability.

5. With one of the youngest populations in the world, and a nascent private sector, there are not enough jobs for the large number of young people entering the labour market. Seizing a potential demographic dividend will require investment in education, skills and the generation of decent jobs, but also a continued decline in fertility rates. Economic diversification and creating jobs in productive sectors, such as labour-intensive manufacturing, tourism and agriculture, will help grow the non-oil economy.

6. The country has made important progress in health and education, critical for building human capital. Timor-Leste has reduced maternal and child mortality rates, is polio-free, and on track to eliminate malaria. While school attendance rates have increased markedly, with gender parity, access for children with disabilities remains low. In order to equip all young men and women for the labour market, investment is rapidly needed in quality secondary, vocational and higher education.

7. Tackling high rates of child malnutrition and food insecurity and improving access to clean water and sanitation are vital and require sustained investment. While the number of stunted children (low height for age) is declining, it’s still very high. Accelerating improvements in nutrition will make a huge difference to child learning outcomes and productivity. Progress in improving water and sanitation, a key driver of malnutrition, has been made, however more needs to be done to sustain and scale up these efforts.

8. The country has made progress in women’s representation in the National Parliament and in decision-making positions related to peace and security. However, greater attention is needed to tackle high rates of gender-based violence and enhance women’s economic empowerment. Improving access to justice and promoting greater access to land for women will help increase progress on all the SDGs.

9. Timor-Leste is saving the proceeds of its natural oil and gas resources for future generations through its sovereign wealth Petroleum Fund. The nation used withdrawals from the fund to frontload infrastructure, provide electricity and rehabilitate the devastated road network. Ensuring future withdrawals are used to invest strategically in the drivers of growth – such as human capital and economic diversification – will help reduce dependence on oil.

10. As a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), climate-proofing investments and promoting climate adaption are crucial for environmental sustainability and resilience. Timor-Leste believes global action to combat climate change is required, supporting the leadership shown by SIDS in renewable energy.

11. At this critical state-building phase, it is vital to make the most of partnerships and carefully leverage domestic and international resources to finance sustainable development. With low levels of public revenue, and overseas development assistance declining, new forms of financing, technology, south-south cooperation and technical support are required.

1. By 2020 power generation 50% of energy would be produced by renewable energy.
2. By 2030 all families will have access to electricity 24 hours a day
3. By 2030 approximately all 100,000 families will have access to solar energy
4. By 2015 there will no household(family) in the capital city using firewood for cooking

Partners

Timor-Leste, in partnership with the Governments of Australia, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, and the United Kingdom, and UNDP.

As a new country, Timor-Leste is still gathering data and assessing the natural resources. All research to date has focused on the inshore reefs and artisanel fisheries. The marine environment, especially the offshore zones, are yet to be fully explored. In order to develop sound management plans for fisheries, shipping, protection under climate change and biodiversity, and development, Timor-Leste needs to understand what resources it has, what the value of the resources is, and how those resources can be accessed in a sustainable way. Undertaking research for the south offshore fishing groun...[more]

Partners

Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Environment
Timor-Leste universities
Conservation International
Worldfish

The National Oceans Policy is a new opportunity for the ocean vision in Timor-Leste to be implemented and to enable government, the private sector and communities to have a coordinated approach to future national ocean issues. The Policy has six objectives: 1. Working together; 2. National security and sovereignty over our oceans, including maintenance and protection of the rights of Timorese people to equitably use and manage their marine natural resources; 3. Our future: diverse blue economy based on the sea; 4. Strengthening our natural defense: protecting, restoring and maintaining of coas...[more]

Partners

Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Environment
PEMSEA
Conservation International
WorldFish

As a small island developing state, Timor-Leste has a small but vitally important coast line. Mapping the coastal blue carbon ecosystems of mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrasses, will be important in identifying their value as globally significant carbon sink. Removing or impacting on those systems will greatly increase Timor-Lestes liability for increasing ocean acidification. These important ecosystems are also responsible for mitigating climate change impacts such as storm surges, and for providing the food security for up to 90% of Timorese people. Understanding those ecosystems and the...[more]

Partners

Timor-Leste universities
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
Department of ALGIS

The Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security (CTI-CFF) is a multilateral partnership of six countries working together to sustain extraordinary marine and coastal resources by addressing crucial issues such as food security, climate change and marine biodiversity.There is broad scientific consensus that the Coral Triangle represents a global epicenter of marine life abundance and diversity. Spanning only 1.6% of the planet’s oceans, the Coral Triangle region is home to is home to the highest coral diversity in the world with 600 corals or 76% of the world’s kn...[more]

- Establishment of foundational scientific tools and provision of technical assistance to understand how these tools can be used. The foundational scientific tools include satellite mapping of coral reefs and nearshore ecosystem; baseline data on ocean acidification to monitor the effects and impacts of ocean acidification and other climate-related changes on the coastal and coral reef ecosystems of Timor-Leste; Enhanced the Government of Timor-Leste's capacity to develop and implement an ecosystem approach to fisheries management plans.- The baseline data produced will support the Government ...[more]

Partners

USAID/Timor-Leste
Government of Timor-Leste, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Plastic waste has been a recent invader of Timor-Leste. Plastic bottles and bags are the most prevalent pollution reaching our marine area. The national awareness campaign aims to increase the awareness in the community about the damage being caused to our traditional fishing grounds and our food security. The campaign will also highlight what the general public can do to reduce the amount of plastic they are using in their everyday lives, and how the private sector can support this initiative by offering alternatives to plastic bags.

Partners

Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Environment

This partnership will achieve strong, sustainable economic growth through direct market links between producers and buyers of fresh vegetables. Kmanek Supermarket agrees to purchase farmers produce at an acceptable level of quality. The USAID project trains farmers to grow higher quality vegetables with greater productivity per hectare. Funding from ConocoPhillips enables the project to work with more farmers in more communities than the USAID funding would allow.This partnership contributes to the sustainable development of SIDS by closely linking supply and demand for fresh vegetables. This ...[more]

Partners

USAID/Timor-Leste
Government of Timor-Leste, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
ConocoPhillips
Kmanek Supermarket

The primary objective of the ICT4SIDS Partnership is to fully utilize the latest digital innovations to rapidly improve the health, education, public safety (including disasters), public welfare (including economic development), and other vital services in SIDS.. Specifically, we want to use the latest digital innovations to significantly accelerate the implementation of SDGs and Samoa Pathway goals. Our approach consists of the following key capabilities: 1. A Computer Aided SDG Advisor that can help the SIDS assess their status and launch the needed services 2. A powerful computer aided pl...[more]

Partners

1. Representatives from Islands (partial list from a very long list of contacts, this list with exact names needs to be updated because we have multiple contacts in most islands)
- Timor-Leste (Mr Collin Yap, President of NITL Foundation)
- Zanzibar,(Mr Omar Ali, President, Zanzibar Diaspora Group
- Palau, Dr Caleb Otto, Ambassador of Palau and UN Permanent Representative
- Solomon Islan...[more]

Located in the Coral Triangle, Timor-Leste is home to extraordinary marine biodiversity. In addition to the fish and corals, dolphins and whales populate the waters during most of the year. Some populations are resident, while others congregate during the annual migration west. Apart from the cetaceans, Timor-Leste is also home to three marine turtle species, and protects more than 12 species of shark. With Tourism being one of the governments economic development strategies, there is plenty of opportunity for marine tourism to bring in much needed income to local communities. To ensure susta...[more]

Partners

Ministry of Tourism, Art, and Culture
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Environment

The Pacific Islands Development Forum is partnering with PIDF Member Countries (including Fiji, Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru,
Palau, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu) and Solar Head of State to facilitate the installation of solar energy infrastructure to power residences of heads of state of eleven PIDF member countries and the PIDF Headquarters to promote renewable energy in the Pacific
This project will be a symbolic statement of intent by the governments, and also a test project to encourage more future grid-connected solar projects on the...[more]

Partners

Pacific Islands Development Forum, Solar Head of State and Government of Fiji, Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru,
Palau, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu

CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Timor-Leste has a unique geological history which given rise to several endemic species. In the previous years several species new to science have been identified and believed to only be located on these islands. Timor-Leste ratifying CITES, will support the protection of these species through the recognition of their value in the ecosyste...[more]

Partners

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Environment
Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries

Aquatic resources in Timor-Leste are a priceless economic resource, and ecological national heritage that ought to be protected for the benefit of present and future generations. Timor-Leste waters are one of the few remaining resources which have not been exploited by commercial fishers. However, the current regulations and laws surrounding licensing of international and domestic fisheries are outdated and as such are placing the fish stocks at risk.

Partners

Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Environment
Conservation International
Worldfish

Traditional agriculture practices in Timor-Leste result in poor soil and water management and low productivity. This Trilateral partnership trains farmers both on modern cultivation methods and cultivation of crops that reduce erosion and increase replenishment of nutrients in the soil. In addition, the crops selected help farmers diversify their sources of income.This partnership will contribute to the sustainable development of SIDS by demonstrating opportunities for increasing farmer incomes while improving natural resource management through cultivation of cash and staple crops. The model ...[more]

Partners

USAID/Timor-Leste
Government of Timor-Leste, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries
Government of the People's Republic of China